Reptile & Amphibian Forums

HI yall i have been reasearching Box turtle foods .. so i can find good foods and about how much i should feed certain foods .. if any one sees something i should change please let me know so i have a nice thurow (sp) list so i know whats good to feed .. and whats similar to my RES's foods ..as well as my dogs *LOL* Seriously my dog loves veggies and fruits!!.. Im sure he will want to try anything i bring home to give the turtles *lol*

(Box) TURTLE FOODS
It is generally accepted that the T. carolina species favor more vegetation into their diet. T. ornata is more carnivorous, and T. coahuila is almost entirely carnivorous. It is also common knowledge that hatchlings and juveniles of all species and races eat more animal matter than the adults. All this information must be factored in when preparing a dietary plan.
Box turtles need a varied diet, so switch around the ingredients in the salad, and offer different types of animal protein. For example, one week offer crickets and a salad of mustard greens, collard greens, carrots, squash, and strawberries, and the next week offer nightcrawlers, and a salad of thawed mixed veggies, dandelion greens, endive, and kiwi fruit. In addition to a varied diet, box turtles should receive calcium and vitamin supplementation . There are also several foods you should NEVER feed because even if feed in small doses they can effect your turtle months from the time feed!!
Foods should be varied in texture as well. Excessive soft or finely chopped foods will result in overgrown beaks. To prevent ingestion of the flooring material all food should be placed on a separate clean plate. When keeping turtles in an outdoor enclosure, it is important to feed in the morning and then remove the food. Leftover food, especially if left overnight, may attract ants and rats. Despite what you read, a turtle that does not eat for more than one week is in trouble.

R-Rarely
O-Ocasionally

FRUIT, VEGGIES, AND GREENS “salad” (50%-90% TOTAL FRESH DIET)
VEGETABLES (20-30% of “salad”)

• Carrot
• Turnip
• Sweet Potato [cooked - boiled/ steamed/baked]
• Beans O #
• wax beans
• mung bean
• green bean
• Peas W/pod O #
• Pumpkin
• Squashes
• orange squash
• butternut squash
• Mushrooms O
• corn
• corn on the cob (raw)
• Sprouts
• broccoli R
• cauliflower R
• cactus pads with ALL spines removed
• sweet peppers O
• zucchini
• thawed frozen mixed vegetables

DARK LEAFY GREENS (60-70% of “salad”)
• Mustard leaves
• Leaves of Radish
• Collard greens
• dandelion greens ( yes the weeds in your yard)
• mulberry green
• carrot tops
• wheat grass
• turnip greens
• Romaine
• red leaf lettuce
• endive
• Parsley
• soaked alfalfa hay or moistened alfalfa
• Alfalfa sprouts
• soy leaves
• clover

FRUIT AND FLOWERS(10-20% of “salad”)
FRUITS
• Tomatoes
• Papaya
• Mango
• Water Melon ( Feed rarely)R
• Cantaloupe/Common Melon (with rind)R
• Grapes (remove skin so its easier for them to pick at ) R
• AppleR
• Pear
• StrawberryR
• Figs
• blackberries
• raspberries
• mulberries
• crabapples
• kiwis O
• cherries
• persimmons
• bananas R
• peaches R
• apricots
• plums
• prickly pear fruits
• blueberries
• Paw paws

FLOWERS
• dandelions
• hibiscus
• rose
• geraniums
• nasturtiums

PROTIENS (10%-50% TOTAL FRESH DIET)
LIVE PREY
• slugs
• earthworms **
• mealworms
• crickets
• cockroaches
• snails *
• waxworms
• beetles
• grubs
• sow bugs

• mice ( newborn pinkies)
These might be harder to find, but if outdoors they might eat them so don’t worry if you see it.
• millipedes
• spiders
• small mammals
• crayfish
• frogs
• salamanders
• lizards
• snakes
• smaller turtles (WARNING )
• grass hoppers
• super worms or king worms ( should be fed right after molting because the excoskeletin is very hard)
• red worms
• caterpillars

OTHER PROTIENS (all of these should be fed occasionally to rarely)
• tofu
• hard boiled eggs shell and all
• Boiled, chopped chicken and organs
• feeder fish
• beef heart
• (low fat) canned dog food
• (low fat) dry dog food (wetted)
• raw steak
• turkey
• Purina trout chow
• low fat cat food
• baby food
• water packed tuna
• freshly killed minnows
• goldfish
• fish slabs

COMMERCIAL FOODS (50% or less of over all diet )
• ZooMed pelleted diets Box Turtle/Tortoise
• Zoomed canned box turtle food
• Reptomin sticks
• rabbit pellets
• catfish chow O
• trout chow O
• monkey biscuit O
• Oatmeal ( moistened) O

GETTING THE SUPPLIMENTAL VITAMINS
Getting Calcium ( once a week -everyday)
• cuttle bone ( keep a piece in the turtles cage to munch on when it feels it needs calcium)
• Calcium Dusting ( you can crush cuttle bone for this)
• Calcium blocks
• calcium carbonate
• calcium lactate

Getting Vitamin A ( Great for eyes ..expecially if they are puffy)
• green leafy vegetables
• cabbage
• carrot
• squash
• cod liver oil

Vitamin D3 ( helps in absorbsion of calcium .. and helps suport shell and bone development)
WARNING: Do not provide a supplement with Vitamin D3 if your turtles are kept under natural sunlight for more then 20 hours per week.
• Natural sun light ( unfiltered by glass or windows)
• UVB lamps
• Vitamin D3 supplements

Other Vitamins, Nutrients & Trace Elements (once a month-twice a week)
• multi-vitamin supplements
• Superpreen®
• Reptovite®
• Rep Cal
Be aware that supplements containing large amounts of vitamin D should be restricted to only 5% of the total diet.

THINGS TO AVOID
• hamburger meat (too fatty)
• raw chicken (contains salmonella)
Following should be given in small amounts or avoided because these vegetables contain oxalic acids which bind calcium, making it unavailable to your turtle:
• iceberg lettuce
• Spinach
• rhubarb leaves
• Beets( roots or greens)
• Swiss chard
Following should be offered in small amounts or avoided because these contain iodine binders that can cause thyroid problems:
• Cauliflower
• brussel sprouts
• Cabbage
• Kale
• broccoli

*Snails are a particularly nutritious food favored by most box turtles. However, you must not offer snails that may have come from an area where snail bait has been spread. If in doubt, purge the snails by maintaining them for 4 days -one week on a diet of romaine lettuce or weeds from your yard before feeding them to your turtle any that have been exposed to poisons will die in that time.
**(avoid bait shop worms - these are usually raised under rabbit hutches or in manure and are filthy with bacteria and protozoa)
*** (which have been fed on tropical fish flakes and calcium or vitamins and fresh fruit or veggies for at least 24 hours).
# both peas and beans have high protein and should not be feed all the time (tortoises shouldn’t be feed them at all )
OTHER INTERNET RESOURCES

http://www.chelonia.org/carebyspecies.htm
http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/nutrientanalysis.htm

BOX Turtle Buffet
(http://members.aol.com/TheWyvernsLair/turtles/buffet.html)
Recipe Ingredients:
(10) 10oz boxes of frozen chopped greens (~ 6.25 lbs):
(4) collard greens
(2) mustard greens
(2) kale greens
(2) turnip greens
(1) abag of red or black grapes (~ 1.0--1.5 lbs)
(4) large bell peppers (~2 lbs)
(1) medium sweet potato (~1lb)
(5) medium carrots (~1lb)
(1) medium butternut squash (~2lbs)
(5) 2 lb bags of frozen chopped mixed vegetables (10 lbs)
(9) bags of Frozen fruit (~ 8.5 lbs)
(2) 16 oz -- blueberries
(2) 12 oz -- raspberries
(2) 16 oz -- blackberries
(2) 16 oz -- strawberries
(1) 16 oz -- cherries
Note: if it is cheaper for you to buy the same quantity of fruit fresh instead of frozen, feel free to do so!
(3) jars of ZooMed pelleted diets (~3.75 lbs)
(1) 20 oz -- Iguana juvenile
(1) 20 oz -- Box Turtle/Tortoise
(1) 20 oz -- Bearded Dragon
(2) 10 oz cans -- Reptomin Turtle Sticks
(1) 4 lb jar -- Fluker's tortoise diet (or) Aquatic turtle diet (your choice)
Tortoise keeper substitutions:
Make sure to use the Fluker's tortoise diet rather than the aquatic turtle diet.
Replace the (2) 10 oz cans of Reptomin sticks with (1) 20 oz jar of the ZooMed Box Turtle/Tortoise pellet diet
Replace the (1) 20 oz jar of the ZooMed Bearded Dragon pellet diet with (1) 20 oz jar of the ZooMed Iguana juvenile pellet diet.

Preparation:
It is highly suggested that you use a very large container such as a plastic cement mixing tub or large Rubbermaid tote container in order to stir/mix the food together without having it spill over. Preparation times vary.
The better you get at it or the more people you have helping, the faster prep can be done. On my own, provided I do not get stuck with an abundant number of distractions at work, I can accomplish the preparation tasks in 3-4 hours. This may seem like an insane amount of time to spend "making turtle food," but it does not compare to the time I used to spend preparing only fresh foods on a daily basis. 20 minutes a day for 4 months is roughly 40 hours spent preparing food! 3-4 hours as opposed to 40 hours...that is a big difference. Not to mention the amount of money saved doing a bulk prep rather than buying a wide variety of fresh foods weekly and having a lot of it spoil because the turtles can only eat but so much. With the bulk prep method I just rinse out the turtle's food dish, dole out their alotted portion, throw in an few wiggly things and it's done. No muss, no fuss.
Thaw frozen greens in the refrigerator overnight.
When ready to begin, put greens into mixing container and spread them out breaking up any still frozen chunks.
Pour the Fluker's, ZooMed, and Reptomin pellets into the mixing container.
Wash and grate the carrots and sweet potato. There is no need to peel the skin off. Place the grated veggies into the mixing container.
Take the butternut squash and cut it into small easily handled sections. Be careful, this is a very hard squash and difficult to cut. Trim the rind off the sections and grate the orange flesh. Place grated squash into the mixing container.
At this point stir/mix everything thoroughly together that is in the mixing container.
Take the bell peppers and core out the center and scoop out the seeds. Slice and dice the remaining part of the pepper into roughly 1/2" pieces and place into the mixing container.
Pluck the grapes off the stems and slice each grape in half then place into the mixing container.
Take the still frozen blueberries and raspberries, break up any frozen chunks and place into the mixing container.
Take the still frozen cherries and blackberries and slice them in half then put into the mixing container.
Take the still frozen strawberries, let thaw for 15 minutes to partially soften up, then slice in half or in thirds (depending on their size) and put into the mixing container.
At this point stir/mix everything thoroughly together that is in the mixing container.
Add frozen bags of mixed chopped vegetables to the mixing container and stir everything together thoroughly. For this part you might want to wear rubber kitchen gloves to ward off the cold from the mixed veggies.
Using a measuring cup fill the Ziploc bags with your chosen premeasured amounts of food. Take the bags and zip them close almost all the way, but before sealing completely, lay them flat on the counter and pat out any trapped air. This will also help to stack better in the freezer. Place bags in the freezer.
After using a bag of food up, do not throw your Ziploc bags away! They can be rinsed out, dried, and stored somplace until the next time you put together a premade batch of bulk food. Be earth-friendly and save money too -- Recycle through Reuse!
NOTES::
The recipe will make approximately (120) 1-cup portion or (60) 2-cup portion servings. If the average portion of food you feed your turtles daily is about 1 cup, the prepared batches should last roughly 4 months; if the average portion fed daily is 2 cups then the supply should last 2 months. Once thawed, a bag of unused food can remain in the refrigerator for 2 days before spoiling.
The food mixture is designed to be bagged up in either 1 or 2-cup portions and stored in the freezer using either the snack size or sandwich size Ziploc bags. However, for those individuals with only one or two turtles or limited freezer space, you could break down the recipe and/or portions by half.
Depending on how hearty of an appetite and how much additional supplementation you use, a 1-cup portion of food should be enough to feed 4-6 adult box turtles or 2-3 adult wood turtles daily. It is up to you to experiment to find what works best for your situation and make any adjustments you see fit to the recipe.
Once bagged up and frozen, it is just a matter of removing a bag from the freezer and placing it in the regrigerator to thaw out overnight for use the next day. To the thawed out mixture one can then add other fresh items of choice such as apples, cataloupe, yellow squash, tomato, watermelon, etc. One can also add live mealworms to the mixture as a treat or to entice slighlty more picky turtles to chow down. Earthworms, nightcrawlers, waxworms, trevo worms, etc. are also welcomed additions to the overall diet of box and wood turtles.
In the winter time when appetites normally slack off, I have a tendancy to mix in a little bit of the ZooMed canned box turtle or canned iguana diets. The smell of the canned food seems to perk the turtles up into eating more than they would without.

geepers! That's a long list . . . One thing I noticed, not only does feeding them a soft diet promote overgrown beaks feeding them on a hard dish (i use clay base for flower pot) will help as well as feeding them whole foods. Some people crush everything together or chop it up fine . . . i just feed them the whole thing and let them tear at it. Going for a week without food is not a problem actually if it's during the winter or a summer hibernation period. My turtles hibernate during the hottest part of summer as well as in winter. All of my turtles are particularly fond of strawberries and crayfish (or shrimp). When I give them crickets, I dust them with calcium powder and let them go live so the turtles have to chase them down.

honestly, just use common sense and think about what and how these guys would eat in the wild . . . and they should be happy campers
e

i have found mine almost must have an addiction to Mushrooms .. *lol* which is pretty much all she has eaten since shes been with us .. mushrooms have been the only thing that has gotten her out of the dirt of course shes only been here a week or so ..but i have only seen her eat twice and both times there were mushrooms avaliable to her .. this last time i think she got a little bit of greens * crosses my fingers*

I'm curious as to why you say these foods should be fed rarely.

Cantaloupe/Common Melon (with rind)R
• Grapes (remove skin so its easier for them to pick at ) R
• AppleR
• StrawberryR
• bananas R
• peaches R

Ooh, I didn't catch that . . . my turtles would probably starve if they didn't eat apples, strawberries, and cantalope. They will eat all of them in the wild I know. I've seen boxies in the strawberry patch with faces covered in red ripe fruit and eating fallen apples in the fall.

I think, Grapes (and spinach) have some kind of acid in them that can cause crystals to form in the urinary tract if they eat too much.
e

because of the sites i was looking at some of them said to feed them rarely and then others only put down those fruits ... its Sooo confusing because everyone has different opinions on what turtles can eat and not eat

thats one reason why i asked for help *W*

I disagree to some extent with this statement: "It is generally accepted that the T. carolina species favor more vegetation into their diet." I would not say that T. carolina sub-species favor vegetation, but rather that they more readily accept it than other species. In my experience, my eastern boxies will much more prefer animal matter over plant matter.
I also disagree with the statement you made, saying that plant matter makes up to 90% of a boxies diet. I have always read that plant matter makes up about 50% of their diet, and animal matter makes up the remaining 50%. Of course these figures may be changed slightly, but not to 90% plant matter and only 10% animal matter.

Steve

i thought hat was odd to different sites told me totally different things .. i could see having 90% plant on day and then the next 50% or less .. but not 90% all the time they would surely find more meat that that in the wild

that whole list is a fine array of food items. I'd erase the recommended percentages, the R's and the O's (just the notes, not the items themselves)

and then feed them any of those things, keeping in mind that variety is key.

Personally I go for about 40% meat in their diet, the rest is split up between veggies and fruits. Mine live outdoors, though, and I know they hunt a lot and forage on the edible plants in their enclosures.

What live plants are good ones ?

thats what i figured if i could feed a good bit of all of that it would all be rare .. i have had some people say half of whats on there is not good for boxies...

Some days i get sooo confused * smacks my head*

linked is an edible plants list.

Feeding is not near as complicated as folks make out. As long as you keep it mixxed up and varied you should have no problems.
edible plants

Adds that to my fav lists ...

that will be a great list to look through as i pick out plants to plant around abouts *lol*

Where to find Snails....(besides yard)?? np

Hmmm good question .. i know there are breeders for them .. how ever i havent ever seen land snails at pet stores ... but i know people breed them as a French delicasy ..

thats a really good Q